College Football Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 12/20/19
College football's regular season has come and gone, and now bowl season gets underway on Friday with a two-game bill with the Buffalo Bulls taking on the Charlotte 49ers in the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl, and the Utah State Aggies and Kent State Golden Flashes meeting up in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl. It's a limited DFS slate, but it should be a fun one to get things kicked off.
In case you're unfamiliar with how it works, you can check out the rules and scoring on FanDuel, where you can hit the lobby for each of this year's bowl season contests.
As for the basics, your roster consists of a quarterback slot, two running back slots, three wide receiver slots (which also includes tight ends) and one super flex slot. In the flex, you can insert one player from any position, including quarterbacks. Lock is set for 2:00 p.m. EST, when Buffalo and Charlotte will get things started.
Now, let's break down which players are in great spots as well as identify some players with cheap price tags that will allow you to roster the high-dollar players.
Quarterbacks
Chris Reynolds, Charlotte ($10,400) - On almost all college football slates, you just have to suck it up and take the hit at quarterback. Paying up is big at the position, and that is no less true than on this limited slate with only four passers at our disposal. Reynolds has the most consistent floor-ceiling combo among them, averaging 23.3 FanDuel points per game on an average of 22.3 pass attempts and 11.6 carries. Of his 27 touchdowns, 6 have come on the ground, where he's managed three scores in his last four games alone. His 49ers are 6.5-point underdogs to the Bulls, but that game script could force him to pass a little more than usual, and so long as the typical rushing volume is there, he is the top quarterback play on the slate.
Jordan Love, Utah State ($9,200) - This could end up as a serious high-risk, high-reward play with Utah State playing in game two and Love recently being cited for marijuana possession along with three other teammates. In his what is expected to be his last game of his collegiate carries, Love could be limited to two or three quarters if he is handed discipline by the school. But if he plays, he has the narrative as a big-time prospect looking to show off his skills. Oh -- and he is facing the worst pass defense on the slate, according to our adjusted yards allowed per attempt (8.93).
Running Backs
Jaret Patterson, Buffalo ($11,500) - Naturally, Buffalo is expected to be playing from ahead against Charlotte, and that lends itself more to the Bulls' rushing game, which is led by the sophomore back. Patterson has turned 280 attempts into 1,626 yards (135.5 per game) and 17 touchdowns -- 18 if you count his one receiving score. He's enjoyed monster games of late, too. Over the last two, he has combined for exactly 120 FanDuel points thanks to totals of 58 carries, 490 yards and 10 -- count 'em, 10 -- touchdowns. According to Football Outsiders, Charlotte's defense is 117th in both adjusted line yards allowed and power success rate against. It's a recipe for success, making Patterson well worth the high price tag.
Gerold Bright, Utah State ($8,500) - Bright joins Love in that his status is up in the air because of him and his teammates getting into some trouble. If he's in, you can play him with confidence. The 5'10" senior ran for more than 800 yards for a second straight season, and his eight rushing touchdowns constitute half of the team's scores on the ground this year. He's eclipsed 100 yards three times with two games above the 20-point mark. If, however, he is suspended -- even for a quarter or two -- you can lock in Jaylen Warren ($6,300) as the team's top back. He has had three double-digit fantasy days and requires only 12.6 FanDuel points for the two-times value we are after.
Wide Receivers
Victor Tucker, Charlotte ($8,800) - Tucker is the ideal stacking partner with Reynolds. Not only is he the lone receiver on this slate averaging north of 15 FanDuel points a game, but he is tops on the team with 49 catches and 17.3 yards per catch on the year. And of his six touchdowns, three have taken place within the last five weeks of play, a span in which Tucker has managed 100 yards receiving three times. Him and Reynolds should be the core of cash lineups on Friday.
Siaosi Mariner, Utah State ($8,100) - As for a Utah State stack, that would start with Mariner. After limited production in year one, the sophomore has broken out for 56 catches, 874 yards and 8 touchdowns for the Aggies. He's posted at least 70 yards in six of his 12 games, and when he's had at least five grabs, he has averaged 90.8 yards and 18.7 FanDuel points. But keep in mind that Utah State is the only team on this slate in the top 25 in passing play rate, and they are a whole 67 spots ahead of Kent State, per TeamRankings. You could opt for two of Love's receiving options, including a cheap target like tight end Caleb Repp at $6,100.
Kavious Price, Kent State ($7,500) - We didn't forget about Kent State. The Flashes have the second-highest implied total on the board, and they're due to be passing versus Utah State. That should lead to increased activity for Price, who has had a number of catches in recent games. The issue has been getting into the end zone. Price started out the first six games with three touchdowns, but he doesn't have one since despite averaging 4.4 catches in the last five. Some positive regression could be coming, and at his middle-of-the-road salary, that could pay off big.
Brett Oswalt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Brett Oswalt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username BrettOswalt. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
